Olevia Rebecca Parker- 1852

New! This sampler is new to our collection.

The Lombard Street School, where Olevia Rebecca Parker worked this canvaswork picture at the age of fourteen, was a public school for children from Philadelphiaâ€™s African American community. Canvaswork, sometimes called Berlin wool work, was commonly taught in schools in the mid-1800s. Education was important to Oleviaâ€™s family and the free black community in Philadelphia. Olevia married Joseph Brister, a dentist, and their son James studied dentistry. He was the first African American to earn a degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Their daughter, named Olivia, became a teacher. Accession no. 2009.12a

In the early 20th century, Henry Francis du Pont created a grand country place at Winterthur that today encompasses a 175-room house, a 60-acre naturalistic garden, and 1,000 acres of woodland and meadows. With an emphasis on both beauty and comfort, H. F. du Pont furnished the rooms of his home with American antiques and other decorative and fine arts objects, representing the best in craftsmanship and style available to Americans between 1640 and 1860.

Mr. du Pont had a special love for textiles and needlework; as a result, he acquired more than 700 pieces of American needlework for what is now the Winterthur Museum collection. Since du Pont's death, the museum has added to the collection through gifts from generous donors and purchases such as the sampler wrought by Catherine Rihl. During the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, girls were instructed in needlework skills so they would be more proficient as adults. Some were taught at home, but others were sent to schools for instruction by skilled needlewomen. One of the first works a girl created was a sampler to learn her stitches.